Wire fence



No. 606,872. Patented July 5, I898.

L. MATTHEWS.

WIRE FENCE.

' (Application filed Feb. 10, 1898.)

( uuuuuu I.) v

il E R7 6. J I

4 4 ,3 4' 4 a 5? I E1 6 6g 8 ii W/T/VESSES IN VENTOH uma, WASHINGTON D4:.

BY Y 7 V Z I N S UNITED STATES! PAT NT OEEicE.

LUTHER MATTHEWs'oE PARIS, TENNESSEE.

WIRIE FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent :No. 606,872, dated July 5,1898. Application filed February 10, 1898 Serial No. 669,836. (Nomodel.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, LUTHER MATTHEWS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Paris, in the county of Henry and State of Tennessee, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Wire Fences, of which thefollowing is a specification.

For anchoring stay-wires to the running or line wires of fences Iprovide fellow runners for the line-wires wrapped or looped around thestay-wires to serve as spacers and anchors for the stays to preventtheir slipping on the line-wires. For this purpose the stay anchoringrunners or spacers are alongside of the line-wires and secured at eachend of the fence, and their employment gives increased strength to thefence.

The accompanying drawings illustrate in Figure 1 a portion of a wirefence embodying my improvement. Fig. 2 Shows in vertical section theline-wires, the vertical Stays, and the spacer-wires 5 as looped aroundthe stays. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the winderpost, showing thewinder for both the linewires and the spacers, both wires being Woundupon the samewinding-pin. Fig. 4 is a transverse section of thewinding-pin for the line and the spacer wires. Fig. 5 shows thelocking-key for the winding-pin, and'Fig. 6 shows the winder-pin in sideview.

In the drawings the posts 1 l are the corner-posts of the field, and Iconstruct the fence with intermediate posts about fifty feet apart,using, preferably, ten line-wires or runners 2 in a five-foot fence,with vertical staywires 3 about two feet apart. The stay-wires aretwisted upon the bottom and top runner- Wires, with a looping orwrapping 4 around the intermediate line-wires. The line-wires aretightened and must be kept so to maintain the fence in proper shape andstiffness.

I prefer to alternate the Stay-wires, so that short stays will extendfrom the bottom to the middle of the fence. To prevent the slipping andspreading of the stay-Wires, I employ fellow spacer-wires 5, runningalong the linewires and wrapped or looped, preferably with a single tie6, around the stay-wires, whereby the latter are anchored to theline-wires.

These spacers run along beneath and close to the top line-wire and abovethe bottom linewire, is secured to the post. which'I have provided forthis purpose I prewire and along the middle line-wire, whereby each stayis anchored by the spacers to the line-wires. The anchoringline-wiresare preferably comparatively fine and are secured by staples, eyed bolts7, or otherwise to one of the posts, so that all the stays throughoutthe line are thereby connected with and anchored to the line-Wire's.This construction, while preserving thep'roper relation of the stays toeach other on the line-wires, serves to brace and stiffen the fencingand render it more durable.

Stay anchoringwires may be used with every line-wire, and their fixedconnection at their ends to the posts may be made by any suitable meansthat will render them independent of the line-wires or runners.

Any suitable'stretching device or appliance may be used for keeping theline-wires taut, and any suitable means may be used for securing theline-wires to the stretching-posts.

Provision for tightening the line-wires is made at one of the end posts,and for this v purpose a winder-pin 8, preferably for each Thewinder-pin fer to construct so that the line-wire will not be wound onecoil upon another, as shown in the drawings, and which is made thesubject of a separate application by me filed of even date herewith.

A simple way of fastening the line-wires to the Winding-pins is to passthe end of the wire through a hole in the pin and thereby engage it, sothat by turning the pin the wire will be Wound thereon. I prefer to usethe means of connecting the fence line-wires to the post as the means ofalso connecting the stay anchoring-wires by passing them throughdifferent or through the same hole in the winding-pins within which theline-Wires are engaged, whereby both the line and the spacer wires aretightened by the same winding-pin at the anchoring or end 'post of thefence. This manner of tightening both wires causes them to move togetherand to carry the stay-wires with them and thereby preserve their properalinement, for as the slack in the line-wires is taken up to the sameextent and by the same winding-pin any slack in the Stay spacer-wireswill be taken up.

Should it be deemed unnecessary to tighten the stay spacer-wires as Ihave described, they may be secured under proper tension by staples 0reyebolts at the end posts of the line.

The winding-pin has a ratchet-key f) to engage teeth on the winding-pin,as shown. in Fig. 5, and one end of the winding-pin is made to receive awinding-crank, and as the pin is turned to wind the wires it is movedendwise to wind the wires one coil deep.

*hile I have thus described the preferred embodiment of my invention, itwill be evident to those skilled in the art that the details ofconstruct-ion may be varied without departing from the spirit of myinvention and that the spacer may be used with any ar rangement ofstays.

I claim as my improve1ncnt 1. In a wire fence, the combination of theposts, the line-wires or runners and vertical stay-wires securedthereto, with spacer wires or lines tied to the said stays and securedat their ends for preventing the sliding of the stay-wires on theline-wires.

2. In combination with the posts, the linewires or runners and verticalstay-wires secured thereto, a finer wire along the linewires, engagingwith the stay-Wires for the purpose stated.

3. In a Wire fence the combination with the vertical stays and theline-Wires or runners, of lines running along the line-wires looping thestays at their connection with the linewires, and fastened at one endand adjustable at the other end.

4. In a wire fence, the combination of the posts, the line-wires and thevertical staywires, with spacer-wires tied to said stays parallel to theline-wires and winders connecting both the line and the spacer Wires andtightening both by the same winding movement.

5. In a wire fence and in combination with the line-wires and thevertical stays connecting them, of liner wires running along theline-wires connecting the vertical stays and having one end fixed to oneof the cornerposts and the other end tightened at the other post.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed this specification in thepresence of witnesses.

L. MATTIHHVS.

Vitnesses:

J. P. Marrnnws, S. ll. Fisnn.

